German police said they were dealing with a “hostage situation” at Hamburg airport, after an armed man drove through a security barrier and on to the tarmac, with reports that at least one child was in the vehicle as well.
“We are on site with a large contingent of emergency services. We are currently assuming a static hostage situation,” Hamburg police said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
At around 8pm local time, a gunman rammed his car through the security area on to the tarmac, firing two shots in the air and flinging two burning bottles out of the vehicle, a police spokesperson said.
At least two individuals – including a child – were in the car, police said. The wife of the driver had placed an emergency call alerting police to the abduction of her child, the police spokesperson added.
Police added later on Saturday that they believed “that a custody dispute is the background to this operation”.
The airport said on its website that all arrivals and departures were suspended and cancellations would continue into Sunday, with local media reporting that the entire airport had been cleared and a large area cordoned off. The police asked that passenger did not travel to the airport for the time being.
In the early hours of Sunday morning police confirmed that the situation was ongoing. Psychologists as well as officers specialised in negotiations are on site, said police, adding that they were in contact with the individual in the vehicle.
“We have good contact with the perpetrator,” a police spokesperson told German media.
“We are relying on a negotiated solution here,” she told the German Press Agency. The police said they were positive about the fact that the discussions dragged on for so long: “That’s an absolutely good sign.”
Local press reported that a total of 3,200 passengers were affected by delays due to the incident.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report